I like Jane Austen and I like P D James, so, obviously, I had to read this.

Here is the blurb …

 The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable. But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball, the guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley’s wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham – Elizabeth’s younger, unreliable sister – stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered. Inspired by a lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen, PD James masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly-crafted crime story. Death Comes to Pemberley is a distinguished work of fiction, from one of the best-loved, most- read writers of our time.

There are a few factual errors or rather inconsistencies with Pride and Prejudice. For example, Mr Collins is described as Mr Bennet’s nephew and I am sure Lady Anne died before Mr Darcy (Darcy’s father) and not after.

I can’t say I loved this book, but I didn’t hate it either. Part of my problem is how the characters are portrayed in this novel. I liked Colonel Fitzwilliam in Pride and Prejudice whereas in this novel he was arrogant, cold and a bit of a snob.

I liked how the mystery played out. I don’t want to give anything away, but I thought it was very clever. If this novel had been independent of Pride and Prejudice, I would have liked it more.

I don’t think it will appeal to Jane Austen fans and I don’t think it will provide greater understanding of Pride and Prejudice, but if you like crime fiction, then give this one a go. I have no idea of the legal side of this is accurate or not, but I had a giggle about Mr Darcy, Mr Alveston and Colonel Fitzwilliam getting together to discuss their evidence (‘what exactly did Mr Wickham say?’) before the trial.

And one final thing, I found the bringing in of other Austen characters (Sir Walter, Mrs Knightley) annoying in the extreme.

Here are some more reviews …

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/books/death-comes-to-pemberley-by-p-d-james-review.html?pagewanted=all 

http://austenprose.com/2012/01/04/death-comes-to-pemberley-by-p-d-james-a-review/ 

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/death-comes-to-pemberley-and-other-matters-pertaining-to-jane-austen-sequels/

What can I say? If you think about this and Pride and Prejudice as being completely independent – different characters with the same name etc, then you might just like it. If you can’t do that, then you will hate it (and rightly so – Darcy does not have a hired thug who does his dirty work!).

The best I can say is that it’s not bad as a trashy regency novel – no where near as good as Georgette Heyer, but I can see that a bit of research had been done. Although as Austen did say

while Mary obtained nothing higher than one of her uncle Philip’s clerks, and was content to be considered a star in the society of Meriton

Taken from  A Memoir of Jane Austen

I’m not sure why McCullough felt the need to alter the story.

I’ve read plenty of prequels, sequels and continuations, but I haven’t really liked any of them. I was pleasantly surprised with this version of Sanditon. I didn’t even pick the join!

It begins with an accident. A carriage is overturned. Mr and Mrs Parker are trying to find a surgeon to employ at Sanditon. Mr Heywood comes to their rescue and in return they take his eldest daughter Charlotte back with them for a holiday. Charlotte  meets the polite society of Sanditon. There is the ‘great lady of the neighbourhood’ Lady Denham. Wealthy, but poorly educated. Her ward the poor, but beautiful Clara Brereton. Sir Edward and Miss Denham. Sir Edward is both a rake and a rattle. He reads too much and thinks too little. And there are the remaining Parkers – Susan, Diana and Arthur (all hypochondriacs – Susan has three (!) teeth pulled because she beliwves her ill-health is due to a problem in her gum) and the lively and charming Sidney. Add to this mix the sickly, but wealthy Miss Lambe and the social climbing Miss Beauforts and we have an interesting mix of characters.

The fragment (11 chapters) collects the characters, but ‘another lady’ (AKA Marie Dobbs) is left to tell the story.  There are many social engagements – sea bathing, drinking tea, collecting sea weed, a day trip to Brinshaw and lots of walking. Henry Brudenall (Sidney’s heart broken friend) needs to be distracted. We understand that the woman he loves is marrying another.  Clara Brereton seems to be planning an elopment and Sir Edward a seduction. Throughout it all Charlotte is falling in love with Sidney and we think Sidney is falling in love with her but he has many different irons in the fire and it’s hard to know what his real feelings are. I must admit I thought the ending was melodramatic, but I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it yet.

Her style of writing is as good an estimation of Austen as I have read – in fact one bit seemed to be taken from Catherine of the Bower

…for which no one was more calculated than Stanley, who was so far from being really of any party that he had scarcely a fixed opinion on the subject. He could always therefore take either side, and always argue with temper.

and from Sanditon

No one was more calculated to shine in such a conversation than Sidney, who was so far from having any fixed opinion that he could alter it whenever he chose, sometimes agreeing and sometimes dissenting, according to whichever view he decided would provide most entertainment for the moment. He could, therefore always take either side and always argue with temper.

I recommend this book. If you have read the other novels and you want more, then try reading Sanditon completed by another lady.